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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: key · cold · season · chip · pound · root · nail · present

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. present — a gift
  3. cold — not warm
  4. cold — an illness
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. chip — to eat
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. root — of a plant
  11. chip — for betting
  12. root — of a word
  13. root — the cause
  14. pound — a weight
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. key — in music
  17. season — of the year
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. key — the most important part
  20. present — there
  21. key — for a lock
  22. present — the time now
  23. season — in sport
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com